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Then we turn and walk in opposite directions. Which pretty much sums up our whole relationship right now.
I walk to my room, and when I get inside, I turn off the few lights we still had on, go into my room, and collapse on my bed, thinking over tonight and what comes next.
Where do we go from here?
What do I want?
What do I need?
Existential questions are probably not best answered feeling overly emotional at one in the morning, but here we are.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with Aaron and me—or anything else—but tonight gave me hope that at the very least, we haven’t lost each other forever.
Chapter six
’Tis the Season for Heartache
Rae
“SorryI’mlate!”AmandaHamilton pants as she unzips her coat and walks into our dorm room. “That snow is terrible, and I almost fell on ice three times! I should’ve taken the tunnels.”
I smile, watching her walk into the room. She has a bubbly and slightly chaotic energy combined with a smile that draws you in. She’s about my height with curves for days, long strawberry-blonde hair, and a wild, feisty look in her eyes.
We’re interviewing roommates for next semester. Our current roommate ended up getting a private room for next semester, which suits her. She was never made to be a suitemate to Mackie, Sarah, and me.
Our Resident Director, Doug, encouraged us to find someone who would be a better fit, and he’d sign off on the room change. We’ve had a couple of other people interview, but they didn’t mesh with us. They were either too wild or couldn’t deal with the three of us. I get it. We’re a lot. We’ve known each other for so long we practically speak in code. We laugh like hyenas and scream out song lyrics to our favorite music, but Amanda has an energy that makes me think she could keep up.
“Hey, no problem. Come sit,” Sarah says. “We have brownies.”
This is a basic first-line test. Brownies are like a code for us. They’re what we eat when we’re upset, when we’re up late, when we want to relax and have something sweet… it’s always brownies.
Amanda drops her bag on the floor, drops onto the couch, and grabs a brownie, downing half of it in one bite. She makes several yummy noises before swallowing and looking at us. “This is so good. I’m seriously ready to pay you to let me live here.”
We all laugh.
“Well, before you get too excited, you should know our story,” Mackie says.
Amanda raises her eyebrows. “Are you, like, murderers or in witness protection or something?”
“Not quite,” I say with a smile. “But we are best friends. Well, actually, let’s go back a step. I’m Rae. That’s Sarah. And that’s Mackie. Mackie and I have been friends since we were four. Sarah is my adoptive sister and my other half.” Sarah shoots me a wink. “And we’re sort of a package deal because we come with three boys who live down the hall. We’ve all been best friends since we were kids, and we spend most of our time together. We’rea lotand we know that. We want you to be prepared.”
She nods slowly, finishes her brownie, then smiles widely. “And are these boys hot?”
We all start laughing.
“Definitely,” Mackie says.
“And are any of them taken?” Amanda asks.
Mackie and Sarah both look at me.
“Thanks for that.”
Amanda smiles. “Ooh. I’m sensing drama.”
“It’s not that fun, but yeah.Technically, he’s not taken, but if you want to live with me, I’d recommend you not go after Aaron,” I tell her.
“He’s her person. Her best friend. Also her ex,” Mackie says.
